History - 1970s - The Championships, Wimbledon 2017 - Official Site by IBM READ MORE 1970: Margaret Court v Billie Jean King: Margaret Court and Billie Jean King contested one of the great Wimbledon finals in 1970. As veteran commentator John Barrett has said, "It produced one of the most dramatic finals ever seen at Wimbledon." The fact it was televised in colour rather than black and white added to the spectacle while also underlining the changing times of a sport that only two years earlier had turned professional. 1970: John Newcombe v Ken Rosewall: John Newcombe defeated his Australian countryman Ken Rosewall and a partisan crowd 5-7, 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 6-1 to win the men’s singles for a second time. From the start the elegant Rosewall, the underdog, had the Centre Court crowd behind for everyone hoped that this, his third appearance in a final, would be his year having previously been the gallant runner-up in 1954 and 1956.

The 16-year gap set a record-breaking span between his first and this year’s final, one that was so appreciated by the crowd that it led Newcombe to ask ‘why do they hate me?’ With a nine-year age gap between the two, it was always going to be difficult for the 35-year-old Rosewall to outlast the younger former champion and his play proved patchy as Newcombe exploited his weaknesses with his power and guile to level and take a two-sets-to-one lead. Rosewall recovered in the fourth, helped by Newcombe’s brief loss of concentration and the clear favouritism being shown to the older player, but regained his composure to inflict a quick coup de grace over his tiring compatriot in the fifth. 1971: Evonne Goolagong v Margaret Court: The highlight of the Ladies’ singles was the final clash between Margaret Court and Evonne Goolagong, an all-Australian encounter, which will be perceived as the end of one era and the start of another.

Goolagong, at 19, had captured the tennis world’s hearts on her second appearance at The Championships with her breezy, easy-going style and sunny smile, which contrasted greatly with the quiet and dignified defending champion Court. While the Aussie teenager arrived in the final having taken out the previous year’s runner-up, Billie Jean King, in three sets, no one expected her to also get the better of the big-hitting defending champion. The die was cast from the opening exchanges as Court surprisingly, showed more nerves than her challenger who immediately raced to a 4-0 lead with ultimate ease. However, Court drew on her experience and clawed her way back to 3-4 but in the eighth game, with Goolagong 15-40 down, she was unable to capitalise and level as the teenager struck three searing winners to completely deflate the champion. Goolagong showed no anxiety in her free-flowing shots to claim six successive games and take the title 6-4 6-1 to become only the fourth teenager to win the women’s singles since the war.

1971: Ken Rosewall: Classic or epic matches are measured by the numbers watching a struggle to the death and the Ken Rosewall v Cliff Ritchie clash at the quarter-final stage of the 1971 Championships falls firmly into that category. Australia’s Rosewall and Ritchie of the US battled it out for 3hrs 59mins before Rosewall captured the semi-final place at stake, 6-8, 5-7, 6-4, 9-7, 7-5, recovering from two sets down and trailing 2-4 and 0-30 in the third. As the scoreline suggests, Richie the hustler from America, had the match well in hand but failed to maintain his supremacy as Rosewall’s doggedness started to pay dividends. From a near hopeless position, Rosewall levelled and went on to score an excellent victory with one of his trademark backhands, passing an attacking Ritchie attempting to stave off a fifth match point. While the victory was popular, the crowd rose in appreciation to acclaim both protagonists’ efforts.

1972: Stan Smith v Ilie Nastase Rain, the first of the fortnight, washed out Saturday play and for the first time in the history of The Championships, the men’s final was played out on the Sunday to the dismay of traditionalists. Stan Smith, the tall upright American and top seed, faced the crowd’s favourite, Ilie Nastase, the Romanian court jester seeded second, and between them, they entertained the crowd with a classic final. Having made his last racket change in the fourth game of the fourth set, Nastase became hyper matching Smith stroke for stroke from the back of the court, dominating the net and showing remarkable determination to level the match. In the decider both players defended stoutly to prevent their opponent to capitalise on their chances but in the 12th game, Smith forced his challenger to net a high backhand volley and concede the final after 164 minutes, 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, 4-6, 7-5 on his fourth match point in what proved to be the closest final since 1933 when Jack Crawford (Aus) beat the title-holder Ellsworth Vines (USA).

1973: The Strike In Britain strikes had always been industrial disputes - until 1973, that is, when most of the men's field at Wimbledon withdrew their labour in the most sensational move in the history of The Championships. As with most disputes, it concerned who was top dog. And in this respect Wimbledon was caught in the middle of a confrontation between the then International Lawn Tennis Federation (now ITF) and the newly-formed players "union", the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). There had already been some flexing of muscles over who ran what, and further turmoil broke out over the Yugoslav number one, Nikki Pilic. He was suspended by his national association, who alleged he had refused to play in a Davis Cup tie. The suspension, supported by the ILTF, meant that Pilic would not be permitted to play at Wimbledon. Ultimately 79 players, including 13 of the original 16 seeds, withdrew. The final was an anti-climax as Czech Jan Kodes, already twice a winner of the French Open, swept aside Alex Metreveli, the first Russian to reach a Wimbledon Gentlemen's final, 6-1, 9-8, 6-3.

The drama was over. And so was the strike. 1974: Jimmy Connors and Chris Evert There were two factors in particular which were unique about the 1974 Championships. The titles were won by an engaged couple, Jimmy Connors and Chris Evert, both of the United States, and in playing terms they attracted particular attention because both were double-fisted on the backhand side. In the end, the opponent Connors had to worry about was the 39-year-old Australian, Ken Rosewall, who stunned the field and captivated the crowd by reaching the final for the fourth time - and 20 years after his first appearance in the final. There was little doubt that the sentiments of the crowd at the final swung towards Rosewall who, clearly, had earned his last chance of winning the title. But Connors raced through to title 6-1, 6-1, 6-4 against an opponent who was obviously tired after the rigours of the previous two rounds. Chris Evert had already been a semi-finalist at her first Wimbledon in 1972, losing to Evonne Goolagong and a finalist in 1973, losing to Billie Jean King.

She was due to play them in sequence in 1974 but both were beaten in earlier matches. Evert had never lost to Russian Olga Morozova so went into the final full of confidence. She won the title for the first time with victory by 6-0, 6-4. The bookmakers had quoted odds of 33-1 on a "love double" for the engaged couple. In the end, Connors and Evert did not marry. 1975: Arthur Ashe wins Wimbledon The 1975 Gentlemen's final pitted the brash, abrasive and sometimes uncouth defending champion and No.1 seed, Jimmy Connors, against Arthur Ashe, seeded sixth and tennis's ultimate gentleman. It proved to be one of Wimbledon's greatest finals. Ashe hooked his serve wide to the two-handed backhand of his left-handed opponent and he took pace off his pounding, often error-producing ground-strokes. More importantly, Ashe exploited Connors' weakness - the low forehand. Time and again he caressed a shot that forced Connors to dig a reply out of the turf.

Ashe did not just create the game plan, he stuck to it superbly, winning the first two sets 6-1, 6-1. Connors, a player renowned for his never-say-die attitude was not prepared to give his title up easily and took the third set, 7-5. The fourth set found Connors with an early break-up 3-0 before Ashe won six of the next seven games to take the final set 6-4 and become the first black male to win the Gentlemen's Singles Championship at Wimbledon. 1976: Bjorn Borg v Ilie Nastase: At 20 years and 17 days, Bjorn Borg, became the third youngest men’s singles champion and the youngest since 1931 in what was also the first all-European final since 1936 when Fred Perry beat Gottfried von Cramm. Despite nursing a slight stomach muscle strain, Borg, the fourth seed, required just 1hr and 50mins to dispatch Ilie Nastase 6-4 6-2 9-7 in what was a one-sided contest on a sultry day in SW19.

The ever popular Nastase, the third seed and title favourite, arrived in the final having brushed aside all opposition without the loss of a set only to run into a player on the verge of making tennis history. Borg’s ferociously struck top-spin forehands successfully blunted Nastase’s attacking game, as did the Swede’s speed about the court and his defensive play, which left few opportunities for the 29-year-old to prevent defeat in the final for a second time in five years. Having saved a match point in the 10th game, Nastase took a 6-5 lead only to be frustrated yet again by some weak play on his part, thus allowing Borg to raise the golden trophy for the first time in his blossoming career. 1976: The rise of Chris Evert: Fittingly the 1976 Women’s Singles final saw the year’s best two players facing each other, namely from America, the determined, technically sound and gifted Chris Evert against Australia’s athletic, naturally talented and graceful stroke player, Evonne Goolagong Cawley.

In what had been a scorching fortnight, the favourite for the crown was the popular Cawley but on the day the greater determination of the ice-maiden Evert proved too much for the more laidback approach of the Australian. From the beginning Evert looked to have the edge but with the final level at a set-all and Cawley leading 2-0, the pendulum looked to have swung her way, but Evert broke back and slowly regained the initiative by breaking up her opponent’s game and coming to the net, much to Cawley’s surprise. The accuracy of her passing shots also took their toll and after just over two hours of competitive play, the American claimed her second Wimbledon singles crown, 6-3, 4-6, 8-6, leaving the Australian to rue missed opportunities and accept the runners-up spot for a second consecutive year.

1977: Virginia Wade: Although Virginia Wade had won the US Open in 1968, the Australian Open in 1972 and was twice a Wimbledon semi-finalist in 1974 and 1976, the consensus was that she was past her peak and at 31, far older than exciting new talents such as America's Chris Evert, Martina Navratilova (then of Czechoslavakia, later USA) and Britain's Sue Barker. However, Wade's victory couldn't have been scripted any better. Wade was a British player winning the Ladies' Championship in Wimbledon's centenary year, in front of the Queen during her Silver Jubilee year in 1977. As Wade stood alongside the Queen, clutching the Venus Rosewater Dish she was at the epicentre of one of Britain's greatest sporting moments. Wade later said: "The atmosphere was phenomenal. I've never experienced anything like that in England other than football's 1966 World Cup. The place went absolutely crazy. It was a cauldron of excitement and celebration. It was humbling in a way.

You immersed yourself in it and then you realised the reason for it was because you'd won. I had become a part of a major celebration." Although her final victory against Betty Stove (Netherlands) 4-6 6-3 6-1 ensured Wade the coveted crown, she picked out her semi-final win over defending champion Chris Evert as the high point of that Championships. 1977: The Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Museum: Over the years Wimbledon has been good at marking occasions and there was no better way to celebrate 100 years of tennis than opening a Museum on its grounds during the Club’s Centenary celebrations. The Wimbledon Museum and its associated Lord Ritchie Library, was officially opened on 20th May, 1977 by HRH, The Duke of Kent, and over the years, has become a major London tourist attraction in its own right. From the outset, the Wimbledon Museum was determined to cover all aspects of tennis from its origins, through all the developments to the present day and as far as possible, the future. In addition, special exhibitions highlighting specific areas like ‘tennis fashion through the ages’, were organised to provide additional visitor attractions.

The Museum, originally situated above the old debenture holders restaurant, was designed by Robin Wade and provided a stark contrast to the fustian image of other ‘museums’ to quickly become a must visit for tennis enthusiasts. 1977: Bjorn Borg v Vitas Gerulaitis: Once in a while a tennis match will reach its climax with both players utterly convinced they are going to win until the last stroke of the rally. Such was the case when Bjorn Borg met Vitas Gerulaitis in the Wimbledon semi-finals in 1977. The pair, great friends, practice partners, both possessing blond flowing locks, although Gerulaitis didn't have the beard, sparred over five thrilling sets as Gerulaitis twice came back from a set down. Missing a match point as he scuppered a simple backhand down the line, he eventually went down 6-8 in the fifth set in the Centre Court twilight. "I'm surprised I had it in me to play that well, and I'm completely choked I lost," Gerulaitis said afterwards. Borg went on to win the match and claim the second of his five Wimbledon titles against Jimmy Connors in the final.

1977: Bjorn Borg v Jimmy Connors: The Bjorn Borg-Jimmy Connors final in the Centenary Year of The Championships provided a more than suitable climax to what had been a somewhat controversial start to the celebrations. That final saw the two champions remorselessly battling it out, on fast grass, from the back of the court in what in hindsight, could be deemed the start of the baseline era. It was the first time these two great champions had met on grass with Borg pulling ahead to lead two sets to one by deploying less spin, hitting flatter deliveries and mixing in a series of nothing balls. But the Viking’s iron concentration wavered and the American came storming back to force a decider. Crucially, Connors raised his own game to draw level at 4-all in the fifth set but a double fault at 15-love, only his second of the match, proved pivotal for he then failed to win another point as a weary Borg closed the match out 3-6 6-2 6-1 5-7 6-4 after three hours and 14 minutes of gruelling play.

1977: John McEnroe v Jimmy Connors: John McEnroe has often said that he did not choose tennis as his pursuit. Tennis found him. And that moment, when he shot on to the scene as a pale, unathletic looking 18-year-old in Wimbledon 1977, was the turning point. Runner-up at the 18&U national junior championships, and ranked No.270 in the world, he earned the chance to play the Wimbledon qualifying tournament. Two weeks later, he found himself in the semi-finals against Jimmy Connors. Aged 18 years and four months, McEnroe became the youngest semi-finalist in 100 years of The Championships when he defeated Phil Dent in the quarter-finals, simultaneously becoming the first qualifier to reach the semi-finals. Luring Connors into errors by varying the pace of the game, McEnroe unleashed a series of backhands to take the third set, and dent the world No.1's pride. The turning point of the match came in the seventh game of the fourth set, McEnroe fending off two break points before Connors finally broke and served out the match.

The life of John McEnroe would never be the same again. 1980: Chris Evert v Martina Navratilova All along, the talk of Wimbledon 1978 had been about defending champion Martina Navratilova and Tracy Austin, the top two seeds. But Chris Evert, or Chris Evert-Lloyd as she was then, floated through the draw free from the Centre Court scrutiny that can sometimes make winning a major tennis title so agonising. When she met her erstwhile rival Navratilova, in the semi-finals, the latter seemed more frustrated than tired. Not even the traditional spit-kiss on each cheek that her mother, Jana, had given her before each match during the last two years, a Czech good-luck custom, could keep her volleys in the court. Alongside the 37 other matches that the two stars of the game had contested, it was not a well-played match. Even Navratilova's mother told her in the locker-room, "you played bad".

But to Evert's credit, she fought her way into the match, eventually triumphing 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 in a reverse of their two previous Wimbledon encounters, both in the final. 1979: Billie Jean King wins 20th title Immediately after Bjorn Borg won a record fourth successive men's title at Wimbledon, Billie Jean King grabbed the Centre Court spotlight by becoming the most prolific Wimbledon winner. The 35-year-old partnered singles champion Martina Navratilova to win the women's doubles final 5-7 6-3, 6-2 against Australia's Wendy Turnbull and Holland's Betty Stove. It gave King the 20th title she had been chasing for four years. Since winning the singles title for the sixth time in 1975, the American had shared the record of 19 titles with Elizabeth Ryan, who, in a bizarre twist of fate, died 24 hours before King surpassed her in the record books. "It seemed she didn't want to see her record broken," King said. "Although she told me that if anyone was going to break it, she hoped it would be me.

Right from my early days, Elizabeth was always around watching the juniors and one felt her presence." King's 20 Championships are made up of six singles titles, 10 doubles titles and four mixed doubles titles. ON YOUR OWN - Play Better Tennis In Mixed Company - NYTimes.com ON YOUR OWN; Play Better Tennis In Mixed Company By ALEXANDER McNAB; Alexander McNab is editor of Tennis magazine. Published: August 15, 1988 TENNIS is one of the few sports in which men and women compete against each other. A mixed-doubles match can be a sociable, energetic outing, or it can turn into a battle of the sexes, often on the same side of the net. Two fundamental questions arise whenever club players think about playing mixed. First, should spouses, siblings or sweethearts play together? Second, once the match begins, should you pick on the woman? Ask a host of experts the first question and the standard answer is: ''It depends on the couple.'' But some have unequivocal opinions. ''I don't think brothers and sisters or husbands and wives should play together,'' said Wendy Turnbull, the Australian pro who has won five Grand Slam mixed-doubles titles.

''They're very competitive, and it's easier to yell at your spouse or sister or brother than it is a friend.'' Turnbull played mixed twice at Wimbledon with her brother, Harold, in the early 1970's. In the early 1980's, she won Wimbledon twice with John Lloyd. ''My brother used to yell at me,'' she recalled. ''I'd yell back. My brother would tell me what to do all the time, whereas John would 'suggest' things. Suggestions are always good, but not demands.'' Tracy Austin, who won the Wimbledon mixed title with her brother, John, in 1980, disagrees with Turnbull about family pairs. ''Playing with John was very emotional,'' said Austin, ''and it was special to win with him. John's a bigger brother. I'm never going to do anything to make him mad at me. I'm going to try my hardest. Someone who knows you well knows what to say.'' Marty Riessen, who partnered both Turnbull and Margaret Court to major mixed titles, plays recreationally with his wife, April.

''We would never get angry at each other over a game of mixed doubles,'' Riessen said, ''but I've known couples who cannot play mixed doubles together.'' John Austin, who is the tennis director at PGA West, in La Quinta, Calif., runs a lot of mixed-doubles events for members. ''I tell couples to try it,'' he said of his advice to couples who want to know whether they will be compatible on court. ''Some spouses play great together and some, it's like divorce court. On Valentine's Day I had the bright idea to put all the husbands and wives together. I nearly lost half my membership.'' A few months later Austin ran a scrambles event in which couples were paired together only in the first round. One woman got very irritated with her husband's play. ''She thought he wasn't trying hard enough and wasn't moving enough,'' Austin said. ''In the second round, they were opposing each other. He was running around like a gazelle. She got so mad at him!

She got an easy overhead and just drilled him - hit him in the chest at about 100 miles per hour'' More often, it's the woman who plays in fear of getting tagged, which raises the second question: Should you pick on the woman? ''You want to play the weaker person,'' Riessen said. ''That isn't always the woman, but in a lot of cases it is.'' Whether it's proper etiquette may be debatable, but intimidation is part of the game in competitive mixed doubles. ''The woman must understand she'll get the bulk of the shots when her team is at the net,'' Turnbull said. ''One of the first times I played with Bob Hewitt, against Betty Stove and Frew McMillan, Bob said, 'Off the first ball, Frew's going to nail it right at you, so be alert.' Sure enough, the first shot, bang, right at me, and I hit it for a winner. Frew really looked surprised.'' If you are playing against a team with a good woman volleyer, trying to hit through her can backfire, as Turnbull's experience suggests. And hitting hard right at the woman in a social match might be overdoing it.

''At the club level, you don't want to hit anybody,'' John Austin said. ''It's not worth it. You're just going to create enemies. It's more effective to lob.'' Indeed, a smart play for the receiving team is to position the man at the baseline when his partner is returning the opposing man's serve, then lob the return over the opposing woman. That gives the woman receiver a greater margin for error in returning, and if successful, allows the receiving team to take over the forecourt. ''The lob is good because many women have weak overheads,'' John Austin said. ''If you go over the woman's head, it opens up the court.'' What often happens in mixed, and what is the cause of so much friction between partners, is that the man tries to play too much of the court. ''The men try to hog too much, and what usually happens is they make a mistake,'' Riessen said. ''Unless he puts the ball away for a winner, he opens up the court,'' Turnbull said. ''Besides, mixed doubles should be an equal partnership.'' John Austin suggests a simple tactic to take advantage of the opposing man's tendency to overplay. ''Go down the line past him,'' he said.

''Keep him in place.'' One final suggestion if you are considering playing mixed, particularly with a loved one. Read Irwin Shaw's short story, ''Mixed Doubles.'' It may be the finest piece of tennis fiction ever written, and it will tell you everything you want to know about the pluses and minuses of the experience before you get out on the court. Photo of Wendy Turnbull (NYT); drawings Chris Evert (Tennis Pro) - Pics, Videos, Dating, & News Chris Evert Professional Tennis Player Female Christine Marie "Chris" Evert is a former world #1 professional tennis player from the United States. She won 18 Grand Slam singles championships, including a record seven championships at the French Open and a record six championships at the U.S. Open. She was the year-ending World No.

1 singles player in 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1980, and 1981.… Read More related links Tennis Evert Sees Post Serena 'new Era' Taking Shape Yahoo News - Oct 29, 2016 '- Women\'s tennis has entered a new era no longer dominated by Serena Williams, 18-time Grand Slam winner <mark>Chris Evert</mark> said Saturday.Â ' Chris Evert Serves Up Her Beautiful Boca Raton Estate For $6 M Fox News - Oct 06, 2016 '<mark>Chris Evert</mark>\'s Spanish-style home is a sports enthusiast\'s paradise complete with swimming pool, tennis court, and putting green. The post <mark>Chris Evert</mark> Serves Up Her Beautiful Boca Raton Estate for $6M appeared first on Real Estate News and Advice - realtor.com.

' Serena Williams Rides Serve To First Round Win Over Ekaterina Makarova ABC News - Aug 31, 2016 ' NEW YORK -- Serena Williams\' serve was in fine form in a routine first-round win over Ekaterina Makarova at the US Open. The top-seeded Williams had played just three singles matches since Wimbledon because of a sore right shoulder, but it didn\'t show as she hit 12 aces, with only one double fault, in a 6-3, 6-3 victory Tuesday in 63 minutes. It was a potentially tricky draw for Williams as she opened her bid for a record 23rd major title. Ma... Tennis Records Aside, Us Open Getting Personal For Serena Yahoo News - Aug 25, 2016 'By Larry Fine NEW YORK, Aug 25 (Reuters) - At last year\'s U.S. Open, Serena Williams was trying to rewrite the record book and fell short, but starting on Monday at Flushing Meadows winning is getting personal.

Williams\' 184-week reign as world number one is under attack, and the American will be loathe to relinquish it, according to no less an authority than ESPN commentator <mark>Chris Evert</mark>, who held the lofty perch for a total of 260 weeks. \"Serena being number two in the world... Learn about the memorable moments in the evolution of Chris Evert. CHILDHOOD 1954 Birth Born on December 21, 1954. TEENAGE 1969 14 Years Old By 1969 she had become the No. 1 ranked under-14 girl in the United States. … Read More Evert played her first senior tournament in that year also, reaching the semifinals in her home town of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, losing to Mary-Ann Eisel 7â5, 3â6, 6â1. (For years, this was the record for the furthest a player had reached in her first senior-level tournament.

That record was broken when another Floridian, Jennifer Capriati, reached the final of the tournament in Boca Raton, Florida, in 1990 at the age of 13.) In 1970, Evert won the national sixteen-and-under championship and was invited to play in an eight-player clay court tournament in Charlotte, North Carolina. The 15-year-old Evert defeated FranÃ§oise DÃ¼rr 6â1, 6â0 in the first round before defeating Margaret Court 7â6, 7â6 in a semifinal. Court was the World No. 1 player and had just won the Grand Slam in singles. These results led to Evert's selection for the U.S. Wightman Cup team, the youngest player ever in the competition. Read Less Show Less Evert made her Grand Slam tournament debut at the 1971 US Open, aged 16, receiving an invitation after winning the national sixteen-and-under championship. … Read More After an easy straight-sets win over Edda Buding in the first round, she faced the American No. 4 Mary-Ann Eisel in the second round.

Evert saved six match points - with Eisel at one stage serving at 6â4, 6â5 (40â0) in the second set - before going on to win 4â6, 7â6, 6â1. She made two further comebacks from a set down, against DÃ¼rr and Lesley Hunt, both seasoned professionals, before losing to Billie Jean King in a semifinal in straight sets. This defeat ended a 46-match winning streak built up through a variety of professional and junior tour events. This winning streak included her first matches with and wins over King, Virginia Wade and Betty StÃ¶ve. Read Less Between September 1971 (her Grand Slam debut at the US Open) and June 1983 (her twelfth visit to The Championships Wimbledon), Evert never failed to reach at least the semi-finals of the 34 Grand Slam singles events she entered. … Read More This stunning string, however, was broken in the third round at Wimbledon in 1983 when the All England Club refused Evert's request to delay her match with Kathy Jordan to recover from food poisoning.

This defeat also ended her attempt to be the holder of all four Grand Slam singles titles simultaneously, as Evert was then holder of the '82 Australian, U.S., and the '83 French titles. In 56 Grand Slam singles events entered from 1971 to 1989, Evert fell short of the semifinals a mere four times (1983 Wimbledon 3rd round; 1987 US Open quarterfinal; 1988 French Open 3rd round; 1989 US Open quarterfinal). In exchange for this consistency, she never exhibited the in-season Grand Slam dominance of her historical rivals; while Court, Graf, and Navratilova each won three Grand Slam singles titles in a season at least twice in their careers, Evert never managed the feat once during her own career. Read Less 1973 18 Years Old In 1973 Evert was the runner-up at the French Open and the Wimbledon Tournament. … Read More A year later she won both those events during her then-record 55-consecutive-match winning streak, which included eight other tournament wins.

She ended the year with a 100â7 match record, winning 16 tournaments including two Grand Slams, having been a finalist in her first Australian Open, and having for a fourth straight year reached the semifinals at the US Open. She was chosen as the year-end number one by the leading tennis experts and authorities of the day - except Bud Collins - over her closest rivals, King and Evonne Goolagong, each of whom had six titles including a Grand Slam (King the US Open and Goolagong the Australian Open).<br /><br /> Her fiancÃ© at the time, Jimmy Connors, won the Wimbledon men's singles title that year and media attention surrounded the "Love Match" of tennis that summer. They partnered in the mixed doubles event at the 1974 US Open, finishing as runners-up. Their engagement was short-lived as it was called off later that year. However, their on-again off-again relationship continued over the next couple of years. Read Less 1974 19 Years Old … Evert was born in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, to Colette Thompson and Jimmy Evert, and raised in a devout Roman Catholic family.

She is partially of Luxembourgish ancestry. Jimmy was a professional tennis coach, and tennis was a way of life in his family. Chris and her sister Jeanne became professional tennis players, and their brother John Evert attended Auburn University, in Auburn, Alabama, on a full athletic scholarship for intercollegiate tennis. Evert is a 1973 graduate of St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Fort Lauderdale. Chris, John and sisters Jeanne and Clare all won titles at the prestigious Junior Orange Bowl in Florida. Jeanne was the only sibling to win both the Under-12 and Under-14 trophies. <br /><br />Early in her career, before she won her first Grand Slam event, Evert signed a contract with Puritan Fashions to endorse a line of sportswear. Company president Carl Rosen thought so highly of her that he named a yearling racehorse in her honor. The horse Chris Evert went on to win the 1974 U.S. Filly Triple Crown, be voted the Eclipse Award for Outstanding 3-Year-Old Filly, and was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame.

<br /><br />Evert's romance with the top men's player Jimmy Connors captured the public's imagination in the 1970s, particularly after they both captured the singles titles at Wimbledon in 1974. Evert and Connors also occasionally played mixed doubles together. In 1974, they were the runners-up at the US Open. Read Less They got engaged when she was 19 and a wedding was planned for November 8, 1974. … Read More The romance did not last and the wedding was called off. In May 2013, Connors wrote in his autobiography that Evert was pregnant with their child and she unilaterally decided to terminate the pregnancy. Read Less TWENTIES Show Less Evert has served as president of the Women's Tennis Association during eleven calendar years, 1975â76 and 1983-91. … Read More She was awarded the Philippe Chatrier award and inducted into the Hall of Fame.

In later life Evert was a coach and is now an analyst for ESPN and has a line of tennis and active apparel in collaboration with Tail Activewear called Chrissie by Tail.<br /><br /> Evert began taking tennis lessons when she was five years old from her father Jimmy Evert (a professional tennis coach who had won the men's singles title at the Canadian Championships in 1947). Read Less … For the next five years, Evert was the world's No. 1 player. Read Less In 1975 she won her second French Open and the first of four straight US Open titles by defeating Cawley in a three-set final. … Read More Also in November of that year the official WTA computer ranking system was instituted, with Evert being the first No. 1. In total Evert logged 260 weeks at number one (third all-time behind Graf and Navratilova, respectively). Until February 2013 she held the record of the oldest woman to be ranked number 1, achieving that distinction after reclaiming the spot for the final time during the week of November 24, 1985, at the age of 30 years and 11 months.

This was ten years and three weeks after she had first achieved the number one spot. That record stood for 27 years and three months until Serena Williams surpassed it in 2013.

Read Less … During her career versus selected rivals, Evert was: 40â6 against Virginia Wade, 37â43 against Martina Navratilova, 26â13 against Evonne Goolagong Cawley, 24â0 against Virginia Ruzici, 23â1 against Sue Barker, 22â0 against Betty StÃ¶ve, 22â1 against Rosemary Casals, 21â7 against Hana MandlÃ­kovÃ¡, 20â1 against Wendy Turnbull, 19â7 against Billie Jean King (winning the last 11 matches with a loss of only two sets), 19â3 against Pam Shriver, 18â2 against Kerry Melville Reid, 17â2 against Manuela Maleeva-Fragniere, 17â2 against Helena SukovÃ¡, 17â3 against Andrea Jaeger, 16â3 against Dianne Fromholtz Balestrat, 

15â0 against Olga Morozova, 13â0 against FranÃ§oise DÃ¼rr, 9â4 against Margaret Court, 8â9 against Tracy Austin, 7â0 against Mary Joe Fernandez, 6â3 against Gabriela Sabatini, 6â5 against Nancy Richey Gunter (winning the last 6 matches), 6â8 against Steffi Graf (losing the last eight matches) and 2â1 against Monica Seles.

<br /><br />Evert was voted the Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year on four occasions and was the first female athlete to be Sports Illustrated magazine's sole recipient of "Sportswoman of the Year" award in 1976. In April 1985 she was voted the "Greatest Woman Athlete of the Last 25 Years" by the Women's Sports Foundation. Read Less Evert served as President of the Women's Tennis Association during 1975â76, and from 1983 to 1991. Show Less The following 1976 season holds a unique distinction for Evert, as this was the only time in her career where she won both Wimbledon and the US Open titles in the same year. … Read More She defeated Cawley in a thrilling three-set final on the grass and then dismantled her on the clay at Forest Hills, losing just three games. In all, Evert won 26 of 39 matches with Cawley. Read Less Her 1976 performance earned her Sports Illustrated's title of Sportsman of the Year, one of only three occasions that the award has been given to a tennis player.

… Read More Evert's domination of the women's game and her calm, steely demeanor on court earned her the nickname of the "Ice Maiden" of tennis. Throughout her career, Evert was ranked number one in the world at the end of seven different years by Tennis Magazine, by World Tennis Magazine and as well as a majority of other major tennis experts from 1974 through 1978, and in 1980 and 1981. In addition Evert had by far the overall best match record in each of those seven years. Read Less Show Less 1977 and 1978 saw Evert continue to dominate the women's game, winning two more US Opens, the final one played at Forest Hills on clay (1977) and the inaugural one on hard courts at Flushing Meadow (1978). … Read More She won 18 of 25 tournaments, with a 126â7 match record, failing only once to reach at least the semifinals during that span.

Of particular note is that Evert skipped the French Open during these years (as well as 1976) to play in King's World TeamTennis. Many tennis historical experts believe that had she not skipped the tournament, she would have reigned supreme, winning in all three years and pushing her total French Open titles to 10. This feat would have seen her finish alone in third place on the list of all-time Grand Slam singles winners, with 21 titles (behind only Margaret Court with 24, and Graf with 22). Read Less The other noteworthy event was Evert's three-set loss to Wade in the semifinals of the 1977 Wimbledon. … Read More It was Wimbledon's centenary year, coinciding with Queen Elizabeth II's Silver Jubilee as monarch.<br /><br /> A new rival to Evert's dominance emerged on the scene in the second half of the 1970s in the form of Martina Navratilova. Though frequent doubles partners, and good friends off the court, their fierce on-court rivalry is remembered as one of the greatest in tennis history.

Evert had the best of their earlier encounters, at one point holding a 30â18 edge. However, in late 1982 Navratilova overhauled her game and fitness to begin a 13-match winning streak that culminated in dramatic fashion at the 1984 US Open, on what came to be known as Super Saturday. They entered the final with 30 wins apiece. In a thrilling three-set victory, Navratilova overcame a first set deficit and a decidedly pro-Evert crowd to win 4â6, 6â4, 6â4. Eventually the Evert-Navratilova rivalry saw a final match record of 43â37 in favor of Martina, who also led 14â8 in Grand Slam matches and 10â4 in Grand Slam finals.

An examination of their record against each other shows that in outdoor matches, Navratilova led Evert 10â5 on grass and 9â7 on hardcourts, whereas Evert was up 11â3 on clay to give her a 23â22 edge outdoors. She also defeated Navratilova more times on Evert's own "weakest" surface, grass, than Navratilova did Evert on her own "weakest", clay. Evert also led their head-to-head three-set match wins 16â14 but trailed Navratilova 14â21 in indoor encounters, arguably Evert's least-favorite court venue. Read Less BBC - Press Office - Wimbledon press pack: biographies for TV team Presenters Sue Barker Former World No.3 tennis player, French Open champion and Wimbledon semi-finalist, Sue started work as a sports broadcaster with Australia's Channel 7 in 1985. She then joined BSB in 1990 and later moved to Sky Sports. She made her BBC Sport TV debut co-presenting the evening highlights programme from Wimbledon 93 with Harry Carpenter.

Since then she has gained a wealth of experience presenting world class competitions, including coverage of other major tennis tournaments, Summer and Winter Olympics, Commonwealth Games, the Grand National, the Derby and World and European Skating Championships. In addition, Sue has also hosted Grandstand and Sunday Grandstand and has worked on the BBC TV documentary Chalk Flew Up – a history of Wimbledon's Court No.1 which made its final appearance during Wimbledon 95. Her credits also include hosting Sports Personality Of The Year and A Question Of Sport. Among her many accolades are the 1998 TRIC award for Sports Presenter/Reporter of the Year and the 2001 RTS sports presenter award. John Inverdale John began his broadcasting career with BBC Radio Lincolnshire in 1982. He joined BBC Radio Sport in 1985, working for Radio 4's Today programme and on Radio 2 sports output before joining Radio 5 in 1988 as presenter of its flagship sports programme, Sport On 5. During the Championships, John presents BBC television's daily highlights programme Today At Wimbledon. John is also BBC Sport's rugby presenter and was part of the team covering the Beijing Olympics.

He has also presented BBC Radio 5 Live's coverage of many major sports events including the Wimbledon Championships, Olympic Games and World Cups (football and rugby). Commentators Tracy Austin Tracy Austin received her first tennis lesson at age two and appeared on the cover of World Tennis at four. After winning 25 national titles as a junior, Austin launched her professional career by winning the first tournament she entered (Filderstadt, Germany, 1978) as a pro. Triumphs over Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova produced two US Open crowns for Austin. In 1978, she broke Navratilova's 37-match winning streak and, in the 1979 Italian Open, she broke Evert's 125-match clay court winning streak. Her incredibly consistent record earned her celebrity status and worldwide recognition. She became the youngest person to become No.1 in the world in 1980 at age 17. Tracy represented the USA on winning Federation Cup and Wightman Cup team. When forced to the sidelines in the mid-Eighties, she translated her on-court experience into a successful broadcasting career.

Boris Becker Wimbledon crowd favourite Boris Becker joined the BBC Sport commentary team for the 2002 Championships. Born in 1967 in Leimen, Germany, Boris became the youngest man to win Wimbledon at 17 years 7 months when he defeated Kevin Curren in 1985. Over his career he won 49 ATP singles titles including six Grand Slam titles and became World No.1 for the first time after victory at the Australian Open in 1991. Andrew Castle A former British No.1 singles and doubles tennis champion, Andrew became a professional tennis player in 1986 after completing a marketing degree in America. He was a member of the UK's Olympic teams in Seoul in 1988 and Barcelona in 1992, and also part of the British teams for the Davis and European Cups. Andrew Castle is a regular presenter on GMTV. Mark Cox Mark's finest hour as a player was as a member of the Great Britain team which reached the final of the 1978 Davis Cup against the USA. In the semi-final against Australia, he partnered David Lloyd to victory in the deciding doubles rubber.

Mark won 10 singles tournaments between 1970 and 1977, was twice a quarter-finalist in the Australian Open, reached the quarter-finals of the US Open in 1966, and was runner-up at Queen's in 1977. Barry Davies One of the most versatile commentators of his time, Barry joined BBC Radio in 1963 after leaving the Army. He was part of ITV's commentary team for the 1966 World Cup Finals and reported for ITV on the 1968 Olympics. Barry rejoined the BBC in 1969 and has worked on a succession of football World Cups, Summer and Winter Olympics and Commonwealth Games, plus numerous Wimbledon Championships and Boat Races. Barry has also commentated on ice skating, ice hockey and badminton. Peter Fleming Peter teamed up with John McEnroe to form the most formidable doubles partnership in the men's game during the Eighties.

The pair won the Wimbledon men's doubles title in 1979, 1981, 1983 and 1984 and took the US Open doubles crown in 1979, 1981 and 1983. In total, Fleming and McEnroe took 57 doubles titles. Tim Henman Tim Henman brings his experience of reaching four semi-finals and three quarter-finals at Wimbledon to the BBC's commentary team this year, following his retirement from professional tennis. Tim was the number one ranked tennis player in Great Britain, was ranked number 4 in the world in 2002 and won 11 career titles. A member of the British Davis Cup team since 1994, Tim was awarded an OBE in 2004. He founded his own charity, Kids at Heart in 2000. His interests include all sports, and golf in particular, now playing off a handicap of four. John Lloyd In reaching the final of the 1977 Australian Open, John Lloyd became the first Englishman to reach a singles final of a Grand Slam in the Open Era.

In the following year he achieved his highest ranking when he finished at No.21. That year, John led an inspired British team to its most recent Davis Cup final where they were defeated by the US. During his career he compiled three Grand Slam titles in mixed doubles, all with partner Wendy Turnbull, including back-to-back victories at Wimbledon in 1983 and 1984. He now continues to provide the mix of class and competitive fire that has made him one of the most popular players on the senior circuit. John McEnroe A winner of 77 singles titles and 78 doubles, John first made Grand Slam headlines in 1977 while still in his teens by capturing the French Open mixed doubles title and reaching the singles semi-finals at Wimbledon. He asserted his mastery on the professional circuit soon after, with three successive US Open Championships, in 1979, 1980 and 1981. He ended Bjorn Borg's five-year reign at Wimbledon with a commanding victory in 1981 that promoted him to the men's top-ranked player (and the youngest to achieve it), a position he held for four years.

He took another Wimbledon title in 1983, but John McEnroe's most memorable year was 1984 when he won both Wimbledon and US Open titles. In addition to his singles achievements, John dominated the field as a doubles player. With longtime partner Peter Fleming, John earned four Wimbledon titles and three US Open titles as well as seven Masters titles, which they won consecutively from 1978-1984. John represented the United States 12 times in Davis Cup competition, achieving five championship team wins and establishing the record for the most US Davis Cup wins (39 singles and 15 doubles). More recently, John was a doubles winner of the SAP Open in San Jose ATP Tournament in February 2006 at 47 years of age. David Mercer Swansea-born David entered sports broadcasting as a freelance via BBC Wales in 1979 and joined BBC Radio Sport in London on a full-time basis in 1984. He joined the BBC Television commentary team in 1992.

Tennis has been his main sport since then, but he has also commentated and reported on football, rugby union, rowing, skiing, skating, badminton, snooker, squash, ice hockey and American football. David, a former solicitor, was Welsh Junior Doubles champion in 1968, captained the tennis team at Nottingham University in 1969 and umpired the Wimbledon Men's Singles Final in 1984. Greg Rusedski Greg Rusedski was born in Canada and began representing Great Britain in May 1995. He was recognised as the number 4 seed in the world and at one point had the fastest serve in the world, recorded at 149 mph. He won the prestigious BBC Sports Personality of the Year award in 1997 and the following year won the biggest tournament of his career at the ATP Masters Series in Paris, defeating the world number one Pete Sampras in what he calls the greatest match he ever played. Since retiring from tennis professionally in 2007, Greg has become a television and radio sports commentator and presenter.

Simon Reed Simon's career began with BBC Radio in the late Sixties when he worked for BBC Radio Sport, BBC World Service and BBC Radio London. From 1973, he was a presenter and reporter for Thames TV. Simon's career as a tennis commentator began with Channel 4 in 1984, and he also freelanced for Sky and Eurosport. In 1995, he became Head of Commentators for Eurosport specialising in tennis. In 2002, Simon commentated for BBC TV at the Commonwealth Games in Manchester. He has commentated on the last seven Wimbledon Championships for BBC TV. Sam Smith Sam was National Champion in 1997 and British No. 1 from 1996-99. She reached her highest world ranking – 55 – in February 1999 and represented Great Britain in the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, as well as the Federation Cup and European Team Championships. Sam now works as a freelance tennis commentator and columnist.

Virginia Wade Virginia Wade's 1977 victory over Betty Stove to win the Wimbledon Ladies' Singles Final, during the Queen's Silver Jubilee, remains one of the tournament's most memorable triumphs. Notably, Virginia is currently the last Briton to have won Wimbledon. Born in Bournemouth in July 1945, her career also included winning the US Open in 1968, the Australian and Italian Opens in 1972, and four Grand Slam doubles titles. Awarded the OBE in 1986, Virginia has worked as a tennis commentator for the BBC since 1981.

Question: Which Australian tennis player twice partnered Britain’s John Lloyd to win the mixed doubles at Wimbledon/
Answer: Wendy Turnbull